March 2018 – Coastal Carolina Soap Blog

Just Eat the Damn Dessert Already!

It’s been one of those days. Shoot, it’s been one of those WEEKS! My daughters are taking turns being the conductor and the engineer of the crazy train, I’m working, school is taking forever to complete because of their misbehavior, and some crazy evil spirit has possessed my usually angelic younger child, a spirit that can’t be ~~exercised~~ exorcised because her soccer practices have been cancelled all week due to rain.

After a particularly trying day today, I was ready for a 2″ tall chocolate cupcake “lightly” frosted with 4″ of buttercream icing. Upon hearing that, my teen – God bless her! – started tossing dark chocolate Doves at me. That got us through inverse logarithms. But dang, I still was having lustful urges towards cupcakes or these new espresso brownies our local coffee shop posted to their Instagram feed yesterday. You know, when things are going to crap, you just want some comfort food, and my comfort comes in the form of chocolate.

Yet, comfort food isn’t exactly good for the waist, nor is it good when one is trying to live the healthy coastal lifestyle. So what’s a person to do? Easy! Just eat the damn dessert already! When the spirit is drained, the head is pounding, and you just want to crawl up and have a good cry, just eat the blasted sweets! Take comfort where you can. Tomorrow you can get back to pounding the pavement.

And total psychological recovery requires both. Don’t deprive yourself of the treat, but also don’t beat yourself up for indulging in it. When you go to bed, the day is over, and when you awaken the next morning, it’s the perfect opportunity to start all over fresh. It’s also the perfect time to lace up the sneakers and get outside. Take a walk or a jog. The important part here is to get fresh air, clear your mind, and get some exercise. Follow that with some mindful stretching, yoga, perhaps. Fuel up for the day, and swing right back into the healthy coastal lifestyle.

How do you recover after a particularly stressful day? Comment below.

You Can Take It Back Home With You

Do you ever go to the beach and wish you could bring something back home with you? Other than the tons of sand in towels, beach toys, and shells, that is?

When I was growing up, we had really hard well water. After a while, of course, the minerals from the water would build up on our hair. Every time we went to the beach, Mom would luxuriate in how the soft beach water made her hair feel – soft, light, and conditioned. When my parents built their house some 20ish years ago, one of their top priorities was a water softening system, because Mom wanted her hair always to feel soft and not weighted down.

Also when I was growing up, my grandparents had the best water. They lived 20 minutes from us (so nowhere near the beach), and that water made the most amazing coffee! It was so good and turned this one-cup-a-day drinker to a 3-cup drinker while I was at Grandma and Grandpa’s. When I was in high school, my grandparents got a place at the beach so Grandpa would have someplace to stay when he was fishing. Welcome beach water! It had the same sweet flavor of my grandparents’ water, but even better!

Fast forward several years to my meeting Peter and spending time at his parents’ beach house. I was living in a place with awful municipal water; I had to add lemon juice to make it palatable to me. But the beach house… One sniff and I knew the water would be as incredible as at my grandparents’ home. I tasted it and was sent back to their house while I was growing up. Cup after cup of the smoothest coffee went down while I sat or stood on the dock, savoring the delicious flavor dancing on my tongue.

Fast forward a few more years, and since we couldn’t bring enough water back to keep me satisfied, we went to where the water is. We moved to the beach, and the water is almost as smooth and soft as what my Grandparents had. (And I certainly drink enough of it!) A little farther east, and we discovered the water at Kure Beach is reminiscent of that which was at the beach house. I can bring a little of that back with me, and I do every time we’re there.

Moving to the beach isn’t an option for many people. Some can’t afford it, some prefer living elsewhere, and still others love the idea all the way up to hurricane season, when the idea doesn’t seem quite as winning. When you can’t turn your vacation into something more permanent, you can bring the beach back home with you (no vacuuming required).

Wherever your vacation takes you along our glorious North Carolina coast, we have a soap for you so you can savor those vacation memories just a little bit longer. Starting on the northern part of the coast takes you to world-class surfing, wind-swept dunes, and wildly primitive beaches. Outer Banks Storm captures this area with its rustic cedar-shingled homes and the sharp tang as a storm blows in from the sea.

Go south just a little bit and the southern Outer Banks takes you to Crystal Coast Morning. You know those mornings at my in-laws’ beach house I mentioned? I captured them in this scent – sans coffee. Zippy and fresh, this scent is like waking up on a late autumn morning to an empty beach in the off-season when the air is pure and crisp and all that tickles your ears are the sounds of waves kissing the sand.

Keep going a little further south and you arrive at our gorgeous Cape Fear beaches. The Cape Fear River meanders its way from mid-state to the ocean and lends its name to this region. Surf City, Topsail, Wrightsville, Carolina, Kure Beaches… Each wonderful in its own right, depending on what you’re looking for. We generally go to Kure Beach. It’s a quiet beach with a fishing pier and lifeguards, as well as a public bath house and free parking. And I mentioned the water, right? Kure Beach Afternoon is pure ocean with a slight tangy zip underscored by a whisper of sunscreen. It’s hanging out at the beach with a bunch of other local home educating families on a beautiful late summer day as clouds scuttle overhead.

And finally, we come to Ocean Isle Beach, easily one of the jewels of our Brunswick County Beaches. This island is paradise just after the season ends when it’s still warm enough to enjoy the beach but the isle isn’t thronged with tourists. My teen and I enjoy weekends away each year to a resort on the island. Wide, powdery, sandy beaches; calm waters; and the rustle of palm fronds overhead as we sit on our balcony or float in the pool. It’s a beach vacation made for chillin’ and sipping something cold and fruity while all the stress melts away. That moment became Ocean Isle Beach. A crisp ocean scent mingles with sweet fruits as you remember what it was like to watch your cares blow away on a warm breeze.

Which one of these jewels of the beach would you want to bring back with you? What memories will you love to capture in your shower?

Walking Around With a Shirt on My Head

Four years ago in 2014, the girls and I began a modified hair care regimen. In the midst of that process, I learned that the best way to preserve curls and minimize frizz in naturally curly or wavy hair is to use a 100% cotton tee shirt to dry hair. This is called “plopping,” because you plop your hair into the shirt before wrapping it around your head. For four years with few exceptions, I have dried my hair with a shirt. Yes, that’s important to my story.

Woman with shirt on her head — My hair “plopped.” Trust me when I say, I’m making no statements here, fashion or otherwise!

The girls, Mom, and I had a marvelous week away on our cruise. We relaxed, we ate well, we walked – a LOT! We saw ancient Mayan ruins, learned how the Mayans made their chocolate, saw an ancient Mayan soccer (type) goal, and swam and snorkeled in crystal clear, sapphire seas.

The second full day of our glorious, week-long cruise, the sun’s beams creeping over the tops of my sunglasses had caused some sore spots on my eyelids. Yes, I had sunburned eyelids. Ouch! My lips were a little chapped, too. I had some chamomile tea in the stateroom fridge for my eyelids (worked brilliantly, by the way!), and I decided to run up to the beverage station to grab some honey and sugar to whip up a quick lip scrub.

That Tuesday – for me, at least – had begun with an hour or so in the weight room before soaking in a hot tub. Then I had to zip back to the stateroom to freshen up before a picture thing with Elsa and Anna, and after lunch, I hung at the pool with my younger daughter and a friend of mine. Now it was time to get ready for dinner. Formal night, so I was taking a bit of extra care with my preparation.

I’d taken a shower and spent a little extra time exfoliating and moisturizing. I had gotten out of the shower and wrapped my hair as usual in a chartreuse (we’re talking bright yellowish-green here, folks!) t-shirt. I threw on some clothes, slipped my feet into sandals, and announced that I was heading up to the ninth deck and would be back shortly. Going from Deck 2 to Deck 9, I opted for the elevator.

You’d think that any one of four people would have noticed I was getting ready to walk out of the room with a bright chartreuse t-shirt on my head and stopped me. But no.

I got into the elevator along with a guy from our deck. He gave me a polite, social smile and a small “hi,” but didn’t say much more than that. About the time he got off on the fifth deck, I realized I still had a shirt on my head!

At this point, I had two choices. I could take the shirt off and look like Medusa, or I could keep it on and own the look. I opted for the second, but not without shooting a text to Peter with an “OMG, you won’t believe what I did!” When my elevator arrived at the ninth deck, I got off, sauntered through the adults only pool area, by the family/kiddie pools and went to the drink station where I got my honey and sugar. Then I strutted back to the elevators, owning my unique fashion statement.

When I returned to the stateroom, I said, “You’d think one of you would have let me know I had a shirt on my head” before busting out in laughter that quickly infected our room. We’re still laughing about that!

Now you hope, when you embarrass yourself in front of complete strangers, that you’ll never have to see them again, and out of a ship of over 2400 people, those odds are pretty decent. But Elevator Guy? I saw him at least twice a day. Of course.

The Healthy Coastal Lifestyle Continues

A couple of weeks ago, I shared how my journey toward the healthy coastal lifestyle began with exercise. As I began this journey, I determined to keep a food journal in my phone. This helped me see what I was eating, how much I was eating, and how healthily I was eating. After sweating through my first months of exercise, I decided to start getting serious about eating healthily. If I was doing all this work, I definitely wanted to make sure I wasn’t sabotaging my efforts.

Now, for my caveat… I don’t have any dietary restrictions or health conditions that prevent me from eating whatever I want. I do have a genetic predisposition towards high cholesterol, which often sucks, given how much I like eggs, shrimp, and liver pudding, so I do limit myself on these foods. If you have questions or concerns about how to adjust your diet, talk to your doctor first. These tricks are what have worked for me.

Things to be aware of… Sugar is the basic source of energy for us people. Our bodies burn off simple sugars first – sucrose, fructose, glucose. Then they go to carbohydrates, converting carbs into sugars. Once our bodies don’t have any carbohydrates to consume as energy, they start attacking fat, converting fat into sugars for its use. Keep that in mind, as it is very important for how you eat.

The food journal/diary is very important. It’s an old trick, it’s fairly simple with today’s technology, but it’s still important. You can go old school and write down what you eat with pen and paper. There are computer programs and device apps that keep track of your meals, your calorie and nutrient intake, and whatever else you could want. Mine also keeps up with my nutrient score and rewards me with a badge when I hit 80 or above (the closer to 100, the better).

Focus on carbs earlier in the day. This gives your body time to burn it off throughout the day. Shoot for absolutely no carbs after 5 p.m. (way easier said than done!). Each gram of carbs is worth 4 calories, so remember that when you’re ready to dive into that Cinnabon. I hit another plateau in my weight loss, so I started cutting back on carbohydrates, forcing my body into fat-burning mode with the twice-weekly aerobics classes and thrice-weekly walk/jogs.

Working, exercising, straining muscles need protein. Proteins help repair muscles after workouts, though a protein hit an hour before your workout will boost you gloriously through it. I grab milk, peanuts, a protein bar, or a cheese stick. Proteins will also help you feel fuller for longer, so you won’t be as tempted to snack.

We can’t forget the fats, though. It’s gratifying seeing that I truly am cutting carbs, but it’s also disheartening to see the fat grams stacking up. Our bodies need fat, though. It’s essential to the metabolism of vitamins A, D, E, and K. Keep it lean as much as humanly possible, though, avoiding saturated fats and embracing unsaturated.

I honestly deny myself nothing. If I want dessert, I eat dessert – but only if I’ve kept the eating limited throughout the day. When I know I’m going to be eating heavily, such as at special dinners, I just go with some lean protein for lunch. I learned several years ago that when I crave something, I should enjoy it in moderation and get rid of the craving. Otherwise, that craving becomes an obsession. At the same time, I listen to my body’s cravings, because usually it craves foods with nutrients it needs.

Working out paired with dietary changes has made a huge difference in how I’ve felt and in my healthy lifestyle journey. I had to make a wardrobe transition, donating too-big clothes and buying new clothes that are already feeling loose. But it’s all good, because I see the changes in my body, both in the mirror and when I feel the new muscle tone in my back, arms, abs, and thighs. And just Sunday, a friend/aerobics instructor said she could see in my face that I’ve lost weight. When I washed my face last night, I could see my cheekbones have reemerged – those lovely cheekbones that bely my Cherokee heritage. It’s so good seeing them again!

What steps will you make towards embracing the healthy coastal lifestyle? Here we are, early in the year with New Year’s resolutions and Super Bowl junk foodin’ behind us. It’s a great time to get serious! We’ve got this!